I fell in love with Jane Austen's writing when I was a child, and I have probably read Pride and Prejudice at least once a year for 20 years (even though Persuasion is definitely her best work). Austen's ability to subtly convey layers of both social stratification and layers of her characters' subconscious is astounding, especially when you consider the shifts of narration that she is so famous for. Besides, Mr. Darcy is swoon-worthy and makes my poor heart pitter patter each time he confesses his love to Lizzie so painfully.
Eligible, a modern retelling of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, is nowhere near as subtle. However, it does provide a fascinating update of Austen's original tale. While not all of her plot twists make sense in 21st century American society, Curtis Sittenfeld does an admirable job bringing as many of her best moments into new light.
The main thought that I had while reading Eligible was that the awkwardness and embarrassment I felt for the Bennett family was much stronger here than during any of my readings of the source material. This is, perhaps, Sittenfeld's genius -- helping modern readers understand how truly shameful the Bennett family would have been to Jane and Lizzie during the Georgian era. Even when trying to remember the social stigmas of that era, modern readers can trick themselves into feeling superior, into forgetting that our society is surely divided by "class," even if those "classes" are less bound by strict codes. This is most sharply distinguished during the (minor spoiler here) television shoot and subsequent confrontation between Caroline Bingley and Elizabeth Bennett.
SPOILERS.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
STOP NOW. THERE BE SPOILERS HERE.
SERIOUSLY. I HOPE YOU REALIZE THERE ARE SPOILERS.
I'M WARNING YOU. I WILL SHARE SOME OF THE TWISTS OF THE PLOT.
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME SPOILERS? 'CUZ I AM.
WOOHOO. SECRETS. HERE THEY COME.
1 ..... 2 ...... 3 ..... GO!
Where Sittenfeld failed most painfully at this update was in transforming Lydia's scandalous elopement to modern American society. While she correctly identified transphobia as one of the major remaining publicly acceptable prejudices (although that is, thankfully, shifting), the inclusion of a trans character for the explicit purpose of creating a scandal is itself problematic and more than a bit transphobic itself. Sittenfeld does not redeem this by using the storyline to challenge transphobia. Instead, she repeats Austen's original failing -- using Mr. Darcy's power and influence to solve the problem on a local level rather than a systematic one. Just as Austen does not really challenge the underlying stigma of elopement in her time, Sittenfeld does not challenge the underlying stigma faced by trans people in our own time. In both cases, Elizabeth Bennett shows herself to be, at least partly, just like her family -- believing herself better than those around her while holding deeply questionable beliefs and attitudes.
This clarity as to the failings of Elizabeth Bennett were the most brutal for my reading of Eligible. When reading Pride and Prejudice, the historical distance helps me ignore how seriously Elizabeth mirrors the pettiness of her contemporaries. When reading Eligible, I see too many of my own failings as a cis-woman and the failings of too many other supposed allies to be comfortable rooting for Elizabeth Bennett without question.
In short, should you read Eligible? DEFINITELY. If you love Pride and Prejudice, then you will almost certainly love seeing your favorite characters in a new light. If you were always intimidated by the old-fashioned language of Jane Austen, then this is also a chance for you to dip your toe into the world of comedies of manners.
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